The Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) adjudicated on a case of plagiarism in the Leadership 1 course involving two students from the Class of 2029, referred to here as Student A and Student B.

Background
A faculty intern in the Leadership 1 course flagged the mid-semester examination paper of Student A when Turnitin reported a similarity index of 99%. Investigations carried out by the faculty intern revealed that the work submitted was similar in content to work submitted by Student B from another cohort. Both students were invited for questioning, and it emerged that Student B had approached Student A for help with the work. Student A shared their work with Student B via WhatsApp; however, in submitting the work, Student B changed the name on Student A’s work and submitted it as their own. Given that Student B had submitted their work first, Turnitin flagged Student A’s submission as the duplicate. The matter was reported to the Dean of Students and escalated to the AJC.

Hearing

During the hearing, it was established that Student A was the original author and that Student B had submitted that work as their own. Student B claimed this was a mistake, stating that Student A’s work had been submitted in place of their own unintentionally. However, Student B did not present their original work to the committee and further claimed to have shown it to the faculty member after the submission. However, there was no record from the faculty member, FI or student to confirm that the original work from Student B had been submitted at any point in the course of this investigation.

Verdict & Recommendation(s)

After deliberating, the AJC arrived at the following sanctions:

• Student A will receive a failing grade (E) for the course. 
• Student B would receive a failing grade (E) for the course and a one-semester suspension for plagiarism and lying to university officials and the AJC.

As stated in Ashesi’s Student Handbook:

• “Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, unauthorized exchange of information or use of material during an examination, unauthorized transfer of information or completed work among students, use of the same paper in more than one course, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behaviour. Disciplinary action will be taken against academic dishonesty.” (Section 7.4)
• “Ashesi University, its students, and its professional associations will not in any way condone cheating, lying, or any other misrepresentations. Moreover, anyone who willingly conceals these activities will be considered accomplices and equally culpable.” (Section 7.5)

Advice to the Ashesi Community

The AJC would like to remind students that plagiarized work and a lack of academic integrity will have serious repercussions. In addition to this, the Ashesi community should remember the following:

1. Signing on to the Honour Code is not just for signing sake. The onus lies on students to uphold all the tenets of the code and live by them daily regardless of the environment or circumstance. Sacrificing the Honour Code for friendship is obviously a dangerous path to take and students are advised to desist from it.
2. With academic work moved to virtual learning spaces, students have discovered tempting and easy means for collaborating in their academic work i.e., WhatsApp, Telegram, Snap Chat etc. It is imperative that students take the signing of the honour code seriously now more than ever.
3. Students should be careful about how they exchange their work. You can be held equally responsible for plagiarized work.
4. Students should plan their academic life well because leaving things to be done at the last minute can be very tempting for students to seek assistance elsewhere. Time management is a skill that we all need to practice especially in this current dispensation of virtual learning.
5. Students must learn from past infractions regarding academic integrity, to understand the seriousness with which cases are treated. In addition to publishing AJC cases, we will start publishing informal resolution cases to increase community awareness around infractions.

We trust that this case will serve as a learning experience for our community. Academic honesty is very important at Ashesi and is central to our mission: To train a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform a continent. Remember, this mission applies to all no matter the circumstance.